I recorded this on the job Thursday using a Samson Q8 mic. Korg PA3X was run into Edirol mixer, and I used tape outs to Tascam DR-05. Recorded in WAV format, then normalized in Audacity and exported as MP3. No other editing so you will hear all the mistakes.
The style is Country Ballad 1, and the lead guitar sound is a free download from KINGKORG on Youtube.
What do you think? I can take it!
https://app.box.com/s/saqt8u0vmaalmscr4tsf

Thanks,

Sounds great old man! Great sound quality, fantastic range, outstanding clarity. Tough to beat those results. In fact, after listening to this for a second time, I can unequivocally say this probably the best song I've heard from you, both here and live when I was down at Ernest's.

Keep em comin',

Gary

Hi Don

There's definitely now't wrong with that mister, the guitar sounds great, not to much of it in the fills, just right, one to add to my DM collection. Thank You.

All the Best

Col

Veery soothing... and the guitar sounds incredibly clean.

Don,

do you have the YouTube link to download that sound?

Thanks Don
very sweet sound and warm voice
I love it

Andrea

I found the link to download here :
https://app.box.com/s/7b15dvpvstdv2mdholyi

Nice Job Don as always ....still dont hear the difference with this mic vs the others you always sound terrific. Pardon the intrusion but I always thought you sounded best on the Audya, but you knew that ..

Mercì, Serge.

Don ... Personally, I think you could sing through a megaphone and sound great ... what VH setting did you use? ...

As to the song itself, Lydia and I listen to a lot of country music and when we first heard this song we thought it was interesting that the guy/girl hadn't heard from the other in 3 days and ended up sleeping with someone else - good ol' "when I'm not near the one I love, I love the one I'm near" philosophy ...

But back to the performance, while it was at the very least up to the usual Mason standard, I don't think I could ever pick 'the best' Don Mason song ... there are just TOO many good ones ...
thanks, Don ...

Tony, thanks, and you are right, I guess you have to consider it was a Kid Rock/Cheryl Crow song. I always liked it. I don't do it often, but someone requested it, and I thought the recording came out pretty well.
The VH setting is one voice, a third up, changed to female gender, with effects rolled back some on the harmony voice.
Thanks for the other nice comments, and Serge, thanks for posting the link for Andrea.
For the guitar sound, I didn't load the entire set, just the patches. Just open the folders down to the sounds and load into Performance slots you aren't using. There are eight Performances and the one I used was Virage Tremelo.

Don ... yes, the recording came out very well ...thanks for that info ... THAT is the kind of info that should be shared on this forum, as it certainly helps others ...
I ASS-U-ME you used the VH on the KORG ... do you know if the VH in the Pa3x is the same as the one in the Pa900? ...
thanks again

Yes, it was the PA3X. I don't know if it is the same as the 900. Uncle Dave will know.

As for the MAXX settings, I did play around with them a lot, but I pretty much leave it the way they are now, with occasional slight adjustments for extreme rooms, such as a room with a lot of glass, or the other extreme, a lot of carpet and wall covers.

On the E.Q. section, everything is flat except for a slight boost about 7k. On the audio section, I have boosted bass, treble, and stereo all about halfway up. I have boosted volume to 75%. The PA3X seems come with a reduced volume level out of the box, and boosting this setting brings it up to a more normal level of "hotness".
Hope this helps.

Don, this is fine work, indeed. The guitar is about as good as it gets. You have the technique down pretty solid, I have to say.

Singing was just as good, voice nice and clear, pitch very good, and vocal not too loud over the music...nice tune, too.

Nice stuff all around, buddy.

Ian

Personally, if a keyboard has a slightly lower overall output level than others, I wouldn't fix it by boosting it internally. One always HOPES that the guys making it know their business, and probably set it up so even the heaviest, loudest, most busy and dense style doesn't overload the internal D/A converters, or hit the Maxx too hot. After all, these ARE digital devices. It doesn't matter WHERE you exceed digital 0db, once you do, nothing can fix the issue other than turning down the ENTIRE arranger's styles to keep the intended balance.

Unless the outputs are noisy (one assumes they are not) simply run your mixer's gain a bit hotter to compensate for the 'safer' levels. Modern arrangers have so much extra gain coming from master EQ's and compressors, it's easy to take it too far (I'm not a big fan of the modern trend to hype and compress the sound of everything... it simply makes it flat and undynamic once the initial 'wow!' wears off).

Not sure this is what you are talking about Diki, but when I first got the Pa600 I thought it wasn't loud enough so I started adjusting the EQs ... then when I was playing some Big Band styles, and big Latin styles I was overloading the internal speakers like crazy and there were some harsh sounds coming from them ... I lowered the EQs and the internal speakers were fine ...

All my meter levels are fine, both on the keyboard and mixer.
I run everything on the mixer flat, it is really only there for extra mics or channels for other instruments or inputs, if ever needed.
It is possible to boost the MAXX bass and/or treble enough to cause distortion or noise, but the volume parameter can safely be raised quite a bit, and in fact it is agreed by most users that it is helpful, if not necessary, to get a hot enough output level. There have been complaints that the output is not hot enough by new users that have not discovered this adjustment. Apparently former PAX models didn't have it and were hotter out of the box.
I've tried pretty hard to get a handle on what the MAXX circuitry actually does, but I'm pretty much trusting my ears, and they tell me that the sound is better the way I have it than if it is left flat. Again, I don't do much at all with the e.q. settings, in the other section of the MAXX menu. Not necessary except possibly in extreme venues.
Now, the mic input level is VERY critical, and depending on the mic you use, it may be necessary to reduce the level of the styles and/or lead voices to allow enough gain on the mic. I have a mic or two that just marginally have enough gain, and I have one condenser mic that is too HOT to be usable no matter what I do, even to the extent of running it through a mixer channel first and rolling it way back there and then sending it to the keyboard input.
With the exception of this one mic, all the others I've tried can be e.q.d and adjusted to sound good.
There are two ways to use the mic. First, TC Helicon has included automatic processing that samples the mic signal and instantly adjusts the parameters to your voice, optimizing the e.q. You can dial up or down the amount of automatic processing. The Compressor, Gate, De-esser settings also work the same way.
Or, you can do everything manually, setting e.q. levels for lows, mids and highs, with adjustable band parameters as well. You can also do the compressor, etc., either manually or automatically, independent of your choice of e.q. modes.
On this recording I used the automatic mic processing, set to 30%. I have tried levels all the way up to 100% and this sounds best to me. Any higher and you start fighting high end feedback if you are too close to the PA. There is also an independent automatic setting labeled Warmth, which when selected adds additional processing that seems to add a little more sparkle to the high end and at the same time a little more warmth to the mids. In other words the mic circuitry is very sophisticated and allows you to waste untold time playing with settings if you wish!
On the external Harmony M processor that I formerly used, I always turned the automatic processor all the way to 100% and it sounded great to me. This one has way more "stuff".

Yep... that's about it. Maybe the PA3X got the same styles as a reference point, but because it doesn't have built-in speakers, the distortion that the busiest styles might have if boosted is not the same issue?

Most likely not, because I can boost those EQs up and put a 1/4 inch plug in the headphone outlet to cut off the on board speakers and there is no distortion ... then it is just what the PA speakers can handle ...

The MAXX is the last thing handling the output signal and with powered speakers only, it acts the same as being adjusted in an external mixer.

No doubt about it Don, your settings bring out some very nice sounds on my Pa3X too.

The Pa900 does not have the MAXX section, although it does have similar adjustments and I never used them with the internal speakers, but I sure do with my external speakers and it makes the Pa900 sound much more alive.

And - with the external speakers, the two keyboards sound amazingly alike.

Bill G

You know there are separate settings for line outs and headphones too.

Now, billyhank, you wouldn't be 'pimping up' that Pa900 now, would you ???

Ha! Ha! No doubt about it Tony. ;-)

Do get your hands on one before you buy tho - you will be glad you did.

Bill G

Don, Use more Minor 7th chords with a b5 and 4 or 5 passing chords and a few turn a rounds with the bass vamping using the 5th on the 2nd and 4th beats and Randy on sax and I could listen all night.
Ha ha! The devil made me say this.

Sounds real clean to me for a live performance, and I know you don't use a pitch control. IMO it sounds fine friend.